Sweet Dreams
by UberNerd121
Summary: Nos-4-a2 is on his own to put Fletcher down for the night.


"Fletcher, please stop fidgeting... you need to power down," Nos-4-a2 tried to persuade the young fledgling.

"I don' wanna," he grumbled stubbornly. His hands had once again emerged from beneath the sheets and tugged on a loose thread from the comforter.

Nos had to think of something fast, and on his own. He had to show Two that she wasn't the only one who could get through to Fletcher.

But how? Reasoning was no use when it came to the three-year-old's incessant arguing, and Two had insisted on avoiding punishment whenever possible (though Nos didn't completely agree). Maybe he could offer the hybrid some sort of reward... although that felt more like bribery. Without Two's persuasive capabilities, Nos-4-a2 was fighting a losing battle.

"Ok, listen..." he sighed, "I let you stay up an extra half hour. I tucked you in. I turned out the lights. What else can I do to help you go to sleep mode?"

Fletcher wound the stray piece of string around one of his fingers until it snapped. "I dunno. 'M just not tired."

Nos sat on the foot of the bed and let out a long, artificial breath. What would Two do?

"...Alright, Fletcher. If I show you something, will you promise to keep it a secret?" he asked quietly.

The little probe searched Nos-4-a2's optics. "What?"

"Well, when you go offline at night, don't you dream?" Nos-4-a2 asked. Fletcher nodded, but Nos allowed for a dramatic pause to pass before continuing, "Dreams are a beautiful thing. In a dream, you can be whatever you want, and go any place in the universe. Do you know where dreams come from?"

The little bot let out a conflicted electrical wavelength and bit his bottom lip. He couldn't tell if his father was trying to trick him into sleeping or not, but he couldn't help being curious. "Dreams come from your hard drive, don't they?"

Nos chuckled and put out his hands in front of Fletcher, palms facing flat towards the ceiling. "I should have counted on you to say that, you clever thing. What if, instead of thinking of going to bed as a hassle, you thought of it as an adventure? Your life has hardly begun. We live for an entire generation longer than our fellow machines; up to four thousand years. Can you imagine how many dreams you'll have?"

"Hundreds of thousands?" Fletcher guessed as if his father had been asking literally. Nos smiled and pressed his hands together, slowly rubbing them until his palms gave off a faint glow. The toddler's eyeforms grew twice their normal size.

When the Energy Vampire drew his palms apart, dozens of tiny sparks hung freely in the space between. His fingers spread and the miniscule specks danced around them, every movement causing a ripple of sparks to swirl lazily around one another. Nos-4-a2 glanced at his son's visor to see the flecks of light reflected over his violet eyeforms. He slowly lead his hands toward Fletcher and cupped them so the tiny stars pooled in between.

"You will have enough dreams to build an entire universe. Take one..." Nos offered quietly. Fletcher tentatively reached out and stuck one of the sparks on the end of his finger.

"Focus on it..." the tall android directed. Fletcher gasped as Nos drew his hands away, letting every spark disappear besides the single one on the tip of the fledgling's finger.

"This is your dream for tonight, little one. I know it's been difficult for you to start sleeping on your own, but now there's enough space in this room for all of your dreams, so don't hold it off. Think about all of the places you'll go while you're asleep."

Fletcher stared at his dream. He thought that it might have been twinkling, but it was so small he couldn't tell. A silent, thoughtful moment passed before he pressed it between his own palms.

"...Okay."

Nos-4-a2 tried to hide his bewilderment. It worked? He couldn't believe that after three years, he finally convinced the probe to go to sleep mode all on his own. It was a monumental milestone for him.

"Good... that's good. I'll let you be, then," he stood up and pet Fletcher's head.

"Night, Dad. I love you," he yawned.

Nos smiled broadly and hovered towards the door, "I love you, too."

The door shut with a click, but the smile on his face remained. Who would have thought such a simple trick was all it would take? Nos-4-a2 grinned all the way back to his own room.

Two looked up from her book as Nos came in, making an expression as if she were cocking an eyebrow. She could feel the waves of electronic pride rolling off him like a storm.

"Well, someone sure seems happy," she purred.

Nos rolled his optic and undid his cape, hanging it on the closet door. "Fletcher's all settled in."

"You did it?!" Two gasped.

"Don't act so surprised..." Nos switched off the light on his mate's bedside table, joining her in bed.

"How did you do it?"

"I just talked to him. As smart as he is, my undeniable reasoning was perfectly clear to him," Nos said in an impressive tone as they settled into the sheets, "...I may have _also_ shown him a little trick."

"That's great," Two hummed, "What was it?"

A laugh warmed Nos's vocal processors as he pulled her into his arms. "Oh, just a little something I taught myself a while back. It's a simple variation of my energy beam. I broke it up into separate particles so that it looked like I was holding a small galaxy. He loved it."

"I knew you could do it," Two kissed his cheek.

"I guess you're not the only one who thinks I have magic hands any more."

Two blushed, playfully pushing at his shoulder. "Come _on_ , Nos-4-a2..."

"What? There's nothing crude about loving you, my dear!"

She kissed the nape of his neck. "Just quit while you're ahead, Nossy. I'm really proud of you."

He tucked his head against hers, letting his optic drift closed. "Thanks, Eve. Good night," he kissed the top of her head, "I love you."

"Love you too.

"Sweet dreams."


End file.
